Page 22 [Section II.C]: [Committees—cont.] Other Committees

Charge: To oversee and facilitate the operation of RISM projects in the U.S.; to act as a liaison between and AMS and MLA and the US RISM office.

Guidelines: The committee has often taken an active role in project planning; it can make recommendations to the US office; share its expertise in data collection and computerization and cataloguing; intercede with local libraries and archives to facilitate their participation in RISM projects; help write grants; explain the Office’s work in order to seek small funds from the AMS, MLA, and IAML-US; explore and publicize electronic research tools deriving from RISM databases.

Constitution: rotation of members. Committee of six, three representatives from each organization; both AMS and MLA members serve three-year overlapping terms. All AMS appointments are renewable. The head of the US RILM Office and US members of the Commission internationale mixte are ex officio members; the presidents of both societies are also ex officio members.

Timetable: The committee normally meets once yearly, at the Annual Meeting of the AMS.

Other Concerns: Committee members should have an interest in RISM and its goals; expertise in bibliography, cataloguing, computers, manuscripts, and librettos would also be particularly helpful.

Travel reimbursement: MLA committee members are given a limited reimbursement (airfare only) for travel to the AMS Annual Meeting, the cost of which is shared by the AMS and the MLA.

Chapter Activities Committee

By-Law definition: [n. a.]

Charge: To dispense funds budgeted annually by the Board (the Chapter Fund) to help AMS chapters defray unusual expenses (i.e., those other than operating expenses), and partially to reimburse student chapter representatives for travel to Annual Meetings; to serve as a source of ideas for chapter meetings, such as student prizes, teaching workshops, and other activities.

Guidelines: Requests for funds must be consistent with the object of the Society as stated in Article II of its By-Laws (“…the advancement of scholarship in the various fields of music through research, learning, and teaching”), and must be addressed in writing, by a chapter officer, to the chair of the Committee; requests must be accompanied by appropriate documentation. The Committee provides only partial support for any request, ordinarily no more than one-half of the total sum. Acceptable requests are as follows:

The Fund may reimburse up to one-half the 30-day economy airfare (not meals or lodging) for each chapter's student representatives on the AMS Council to attend the Friday morning Student Representatives to Council Breakfast meeting and the Saturday noon AMS Council meeting at the Society's Annual Meeting. (If the representative drives or takes other public transportation, the reimbursement request should not exceed the 30-economy airfare amount. Requests for reimbursement for tickets purchased less than 30 days from the date of travel may not be fully honored.) To request such reimbursement, a chapter officer (or student him/herself, upon approval by the Council Secretary) should submit to the Chair of the committee invoices or receipts, or a statement outlining automobile mileage. (The current IRS standard mileage reimbursement rates are used.) The application form is available online.

The Fund may provide support for unusual expenses incurred for chapter meetings or other chapter activities. Such expenses may include the fees or other expenses of guest speakers or performers at chapter meetings, or the costs of duplicating abstracts of papers read at such meetings. The upper limit for this subvention is currently $250.

The Fund may be used to support reasonable venue costs for chapter meetings, such as rental of space and insurance, when such costs cannot be met in other ways. This financial assistance must be requested no fewer than 30 days in advance, and must include budgetary details and estimates. Please send a note to the committee chair with this information.

Constitution: rotation of members. Three members, serving three-year overlapping terms (in this case, uniquely, “year” means fiscal year, 1 July through 30 June, coterminous with the Society’s budget year). The chair is normally the committee member serving his/her third year. The committee should be made up of AMS members with longstanding chapter service and experience.

Timetable: Requests are considered throughout the fiscal year. The Executive Director has developed a routing sheet, available at the website under Chapter Activities Committee. After the Annual Meeting, the Council Secretary sends the chair of the Chapter Activities Committee a list of the student representatives who attended the required events and are eligible for reimbursement. The student submits receipts and routing sheet to the chapter officer, who passes them on to the committee chair, who passes them on to the Executive Director.

Other Concerns: The committee may not approve subventions for chapter operating expenses (e.g., payment for clerical help, postal charges, purchase or rental of office equipment, costs of announcements, chapter directories). For further details, see: https://www.amsmusicology.org/page/chapterfund